13

Chapter 13 – Northern Matters

Ned was at the head of the column coming up from Winterfell. He was certainly feeling a mounting sense of dread as he led his army once again. The last time he had done this was during the Greyjoy Rebellion which had not been a huge war as the last against the Targaryens had been, but all the same leading men into a the jaws of death was something that Ned had never wanted. He had never wanted glory…never even dreamed of it, he had been content to serve his older brother Brandon when he became Lord of Winterfell and do his duty. He had never wanted his family's seat himself but when his father and older brother had been killed he had accepted the responsibilities and power that came with being Lord of the North and even taken his late brother's betrothed as his wife to keep the alliance with the Riverlands strong even though he had hardly even met the girl. But as time went on he had settled albeit reluctantly into his role and raised a family that he loved more than life itself, even raising Lyanna's son as his own to keep the boy safe. Then Robert had cornered him and demanded he become Hand of the King which had robbed him of his comfortable life and plunged him into the brutal and disgraceful world of Southern politics which had disgusted him no end. And yet as his mind returned to the present he reflected on the bitter irony that despite his best efforts to keep out of the War in the South, bloodshed and the misery of war had found him here at home.

At his side was his son Robb who looked proud to be standing with his father and a more pensive Theon Greyjoy at Robb's side. Seeing his son in armour made Ned feel fearful for his son, this would be Robb's first battle and although every instinct in Ned's body was screaming for him to send his eldest son home he knew he could not or the Northern lords would never respect Robb at all. Theon of course had wanted to try and find some glory of his own by following them and Ned pitied the young man who had no idea of what was waiting for them.

In Ned's pocket was the letter he had received from one of the men that Ned trusted and respected the most, Jeor Mormont also known as the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch near begging for his aid and that all the Northern houses, adding to Ned's sense of foreboding. Robb however was merely puzzled at why they had marched so quickly and felt compelled to ask his father.

"Father why are we all going to the Wall? Surely the Night's Watch can handle the wildlings, they have held strong for thousands of years." Robb said with near certainty only for his father to shake his head gently as they rode on before explaining the sad truth about the Night's Watch.

"Once it was true that they were a strong brotherhood, but in the many centuries since the Watch has become a dumping group for all the rapists, murderers, thieves and other criminals of the south and even then the order continued to decline. They now stand at only just two thousand men manning only three of the Wall's castles. I have sent all the aid I could but it was not enough and the southern kingdoms do not realise the extent to which the Watch has declined although some have sent more men in recent years. So it is not just the quantity of the Order that has declined but also the quality of their recruits, the fact that they have managed to hold on is nothing short of a miracle."

"But even then." Theon said breaking into the conversation with his usual arrogance that was grating on Ned's nerves. "They should be able to deal with a few badly armed savages surely? The Lord Commander must be a panicking fool to beg for the North's support."

Ned was immediately annoyed with Theon's insult towards the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and snapped at the young man.

"Jeor Mormont is one of the most capable and bravest men I have ever had the privilege of knowing. If he is near begging then I know the situation must be truly dire indeed. You would do well to guard your tongue before speaking of matters of which you know nothing." Ned said to Theon sharply and his eyes burned their strange grey fire that stopped Theon and he averted his gaze rather than meet Ned's eyes. Robb too stayed silent and Ned sighed before turning his attention back to the ride ahead as he felt the ache in his bones.

Ned was tired from all the strife and upset that had happened in the south not to mention the aching pain he felt in his heart over the tearing apart of his family and in no mood for Theon's arrogance. Robb, Bran and Rickon may still be home but the gulf between him and Catelyn was like a gaping wound in his life. Theirs was no great romance but it had been warm and loving before he had ridden south, now they could barely find a word to say to each other. It was a sad state of affairs when they could not even find the words to argue. He hoped that in time maybe they could finally start actually talking again in cordial conversation and that might begin to heal their relationship. The absence of Sansa and Arya from Winterfell was another pain Ned felt dearly in his heart. He missed them more than he had ever thought possible, he now would sometimes imagine them there to try and ease the pain; Sansa stitching with her septa while Arya would be hip deep in some trouble for missing her lessons. Gods Ned thought to himself he would give anything to go back to the days before Robert had come to Winterfell and made him Hand of the King. And to add to his current worries the letter from Castle Black had warned that there was a problem but had otherwise said little other than a large force of Wildlings had gathered against them. While many would scoff at such a letter, Ned and the other Northern lords that knew Jeor Mormont was not the kind of man to panic or plead unless he had genuine reason to fear. So they had rallied what troops could be mustered at such short notice and rode to the Wall.

However Ned was broken from his concerns over what might await them at the Wall and at home when he saw the banners of his vassals approaching to converge with his own army. The first to arrive was GreatJon Umber who had his own sons at his side. Why anyone called the Lord of Last Heath's eldest son SmallJon was a mystery to everyone that was not an Umber. He was just as tall and strong as his father as were his younger brothers. The GreatJon was as always loud and hearty in his greetings.

"My lord!" He cried out as he and his forces joined with the main Stark host. The large man rode up to Ned and beamed. "Good to see you! And this must be young Robb. Hoping to prove yourself boy?" The tall, bearded and muscular GreatJon asked and somewhat nervously Robb nodded, his mind was on what might be waiting for them at the Wall. Ned found himself smiling, cheered up slightly by the GreatJon's big and happy manner. If there was any Northern lord that Ned would count on without reservation to watch his back, it was the GreatJon.

They were soon met with the Glovers and their lord Galbart Glover, he gave Ned a small bow which Ned evenly returned. Lord Glover might be otherwise unremarkable in terms of talents but he was good, loyal and steady. Lord Glover was also accompanied by two of his own most powerful vassals House Forrester and House Whitehill.

The Lord of Ironrath Gregor Forrester gave as deep a bow as he could on horseback which Ned smiled at and returned. The Forresters had always been one of the most loyal of the bannermen he could call on and their lord Gregor was not only a courageous man but a fair and kind one too. The eyes of the Forresters however darkened as the Whitehills tried to muscle their way forward only for a sharp glare from Lord Glover to stop them in their tracks. The lord of Highpoint was Ludd Whitehill and he was sneering right back at the Forresters glares. Ned did not want any of their long running feud causing trouble now and said sharply to both Lord Forrester and Lord Whitehill.

"Stop it now. We are facing a battle and I will not have any trouble from within our own ranks. Leave whatever problems you have in the Wolfwood."

Gregor was quick to show his acceptance of his lord's command and said.

"Yes my lord at once." Lord Whitehill however dimmed his sneer slightly and Ned decided he may need to bring the rebellious Whitehills to heel if the attitude he was seeing did not improve.

Then the Flints of Widows Watch, the Manderlys and the Karstarks all arrived accompanied themselves by smaller houses that they had under their wing and with some of his anxiety easing due to his army rallying around him Ned waited for the last of his vassals to arrive. Eventually arriving late the last of the Northern houses that could answer his call came and the sight of the flayed man on their banners made Ned frown slightly…the Boltons led by their lord Roose. Ned's eyes narrowed at the sight of the Dreadfort's ruler as did several other lords given the reputation of the man's house and that of his bastard son Ramsay who was riding at his father's side. Nothing had ever been confirmed but the rumours were enough to make the other lords keep their distance. Roose took it without comment although his eyes showed his mutual distain for them while at his side, the bastard Ramsay Snow made Ned nervous at the lack of empathy and feeling in general he could see in the boy's eyes.

Now however with a force of twenty five thousand strong the army rode on North before arriving near Castle Black. There they saw riders approaching them flying the black flag of the Night's Watch. As the riders came closer Ned was pleased to see that not only was the Lord Commander himself leading the party but his own brother Benjen was with the party. Seeing his sole remaining sibling was enough to lift Ned's spirits slightly but not enough to bring a smile to his face.

"Lord Stark." Lord Jeor Mormont said as he finally came close enough to speak to the Warden of the North. The tired and weathered face of the Lord Commander used the briefest of moments to look over to his niece Dacey Mormont who was leading the contingent from their family before turning his attention to Lord Stark. "Thank the gods, an army of wildlings has managed to breach and take over one of our abandoned castles. I do not have the men to retake it and our rangers have just informed me that an even larger force of wildlings is coming down to the Wall. We need to retake that castle before they get here or they can simply march straight into the North unhindered."

"How big of a Wildling force are we dealing with Lord Commander?" Lord Rickard Karstark asked worried that their existing army might not be large enough to repel a large scale attack without additional reinforcements. Given the sheer size of the North gathering its full army took a considerable time and with winter so close it would be hard to maintain a constant presence here if the wildlings were not dealt with swiftly.

"Five thousand now at Woodswatch-By-The-Pool with my rangers reporting a force numbering perhaps twenty times, standing at over a hundred thousand or more that is coming down from the Far North." The figure shocked the Northern lords and Ned especially, while they knew there were large groups of wildlings like the Thenns as opposed to the popular view that they were only tiny tribes of savages, never had there been a force that large, certainly not in their lifetime anyway.

"How is that possible? What could have motivated them to join together like that?" Lord Glover asked concerned however Roose Bolton had a different question.

"Fuck how they came together, what are we supposed to do against an army that large?" He said urgently and the other lords around him looked uneasy about facing such a large force. Roose immediately started talking again to make his point. "We should pull our forces and fortify our castles."

"And what of when they are on this side of the Wall?" Ned asked simply not losing his cool despite the danger of what they were about to face. The lords all turned to face him. He felt a strange sense of calm fall over him as they looked to him, something he had not felt in a long time. He might hate the battlefield but he did not fear it, if the gods wanted to call his spirit to the afterlife then they would call it. There was nothing that he could do about it and he would in the meantime do his best to defend his family and the North. Knowing that for the sake of everyone in the North he was going to have to fight, Ned rallied the lords around him. "Then they will ravage our lands and starve us out. Our people and families will be slaughtered and our wives and daughters raped and then killed assuming they are not kept as whores." He said coldly appealing to the men's love of their families which was clearly working by the horrified look on the faces of the lords and other men around him. "If we fight them here however then we have an entrenched position, their numbers will count for nothing if they cannot breach the castles. We can pick them off from the Wall itself, cover them in boiling oil and arrow fire before we turn and hammer them with spears and swords if they do somehow manage to get in." He said speaking louder than his usual quiet, softly spoken baritone. The Lords cheered, accepting his seemingly confident assumption that they could hold this army off and even Roose fell silent although he looked mutinous. The GreatJon clapped Ned on the back so hard that he nearly fell from his horse but for the sake of his pride and face he was able to stay on his horse and with a strong sense of foreboding Ned led his army towards Woodswatch to retake it from the Wildlings.

Woodswatch-By-The-Pool was a stone castle near a large forest with a small lake. It had been abandoned by the Night's Watch for nearly thirty years and the wooden parts of the castle were already showing the signs of neglect while the stone remained strong. On its walls a group of archers led by a red haired young woman kept watch for any sign of the crows and the kneeler Northern lords. A man also with red hair although not as bright as the leading archer came up the stone steps followed by a dark haired woman with a scowl on her face to look over the ramparts for themselves he asked her.

"Any sign of the kneelers or the crows yet?"

The red haired archer turned to face him, she shook her head and said.

"Not yet, but eventually they will come here." The dark haired woman's scowl grew and she complained.

"We should be heading south while we have the chance, not waiting for the fucking kneelers to come here and cut us up. Why in the name of the Gods do we have to hole up in this miserable castle?" A man's voice answered from behind them as he came up to join them.

"Because it does not matter how far south we go Osha, they will find us. Fight them here, fight them in the south does not make any difference. Sooner or later will have to fight…them." The man said as looked out across the vast and cold lands of the North, glad that he had managed to get those who had remained loyal to him where they would be safe for the time being. Then on the horizon he saw the sight of banners waving in the air followed by a large body of armed men. The red haired man said grimly.

"Well here they are. I will get the men ready for battle." But their leader shook his head and said.

"Fighting them would be pointless…it is just as well that we have something to show them, do we not?" He said hinting to their prisoner. The other three looked instantly unsettled at the reminder of what was currently held in the thickest and hardest chains they could manage in the bowels of the castle they had seized.

As the Northern army approached in the distance they could see men on the walls of the previously abandoned castle and Ned got his lords together to plan their attack.

"If we use a battering ram then those wooden doors we cave easily but it would allow their archers to pick off our men from the walls." Rickard Karstark said with his considerable experience. They all stood in a hastily assembled tent around a table with a crude drawing of the layout of the castle they were about to attack. Robb looked ready to speak and so Ned looked to him and rather nervously Robb added his idea.

"If we had additional men with the ram they could hold shields over the others to protect them from the arrows." He looked unsure of himself and wondered if he should have refrained from speaking but the approving nods of the man around him and the small smile from his father made him rally his courage, but then a guard came into the tent looking very surprised.

"My lords there are people coming from the castle baring the flag of truce." The guard suddenly felt very small as the gazes of all the lords present turned towards him and he swiftly left rather than be faced with the stares of the most powerful men in the North any longer. Once he was gone however Jeor Mormont said with a resigned tone.

"That confirms my fears on who is leading the Wildlings. Mance Rayder, one of our brothers and a great ranger that deserted the brotherhood some years ago. I have been trying to track his movements but my sources of information beyond the Wall have been suspiciously silent of late." The fact that Jeor had sources beyond the Wall was something of a surprise to the Northern lords and Ned asked him carefully.

"How dangerous is he?" The Northern lords all looked at Jeor expectantly who told them.

"His sword arm is better than most and he is clever, educated by Maester Aemon. He managed to go further than nearly any ranger the Night's Watch has had in its recent history." He said with a slightly apologetic look to Benjen who took it with good grace. They all left the tent to see who the wildlings had sent to meet them.

As Ned got to the head of the group he could see three people walking towards them in the rough fabrics and animal skins you would expect from the wildlings but they held a large white flag aloft as you would expect in a southern kingdom. Leading the party was a man of normal height with long legs and a broad chest of muscles from a hard life beyond the wall. His face was sharp and his brown hair was nearly grey but still had brown here and there. His brown eyes were shrewd and taking them all in the moment he could see them and as Jeor and Benjen bristled at the sight of the man, Ned realised this must be Mance Rayder.

At his side were a strange pair, a man about Ned's own age and a young woman about the age of Robb; the man was nearly as tall as the GreatJon and heavily muscled easily holding the large flag aloft with no difficulty. His face was broad but not from fat and his hair was still brownish red, he would certainly prove a worthy combatant due to his strength alone Ned thought to himself. Then he turned his attention to the young woman that accompanied them and the first thing that crossed his mind was that she was a huntress. The bow across her back was not new and the confidence with which she walked and lightness of her steps making virtually no noise was in stark contrast to many women he had met. Women warriors were not unheard of but this young woman Ned could tell was unique. And although she was no great beauty with her skinny but well-muscled frame and plain features, her blue and grey eyes held a strong will and her fiery red hair were certainly enough to label her as striking.

As they finally reached the camp's edge Ned stepped forward with the other Northerners behind him watching the wildlings wearily. While Mance seemed to be staying calm and unchallenging the two at his side looked ready to start a fight when they saw the Jeor and Benjen who themselves looked distinctly uncomfortable being this close to the man they perceived as a traitor. Mance however was the first to speak.

"Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell I presume, you look too much like your brother to be anyone else. I see from the presence of the Lord Commander and First Ranger that I do not need to introduce myself but I will offer the names of my companions, Ygritte and Tormund Giantsbane." Mance said sure in his judgement and introduced his two companions who kept looking at them with suspicion. Ned was slightly unsettled by the shrewdness in the other man's eyes but did not allow it to show.

"Under Northern law I should take your head for deserting the watch Mance Rayder, but I think you have something to say else you would not be here." He delivered the words calmly and although both of his companions looked offended Mance did not.

"I was not given much choice by the Watch, I was raised by them Lord Stark and thought much the same as they do about my people till my life was saved by them and they opened my eyes to not only the truth about them, that they are not the uncivilised savages that I had been raised to believe but also to the true enemy to the Watch and indeed all the peoples of the world." That comment did confuse the Northerners and Lord Forrester did ask concerned.

"True enemy?"

Mance nodded and turned to Tormund who waved his large white flag in a strange pattern and from the gates of the invaded castle. For a moment nothing happened but then the great wooden doors opened and a group of wildlings emerged dragging the figure of a man in chains, only when they came closer did the Northerners see that this was no human. It was human like in shape but its flesh was grey as if petrified and ready to fall off and its hair was as white as freshly fallen snow. Its frame was emancipated with the bones showing easily but what really drew their attention was its eyes, they were a strange blue that seemed icy and yet seemed to glow at the same time.

"By the gods what is this thing?" Lord Glover asked astonished, the rest of the men in the Northern camp all were shocked at the strange creature they were presented with. Ned himself felt a chill run up his spine when he looked at it. Something about the creature especially when its eyes caught his made him fear it, from the core of his being. Even the boastful Theon was shocked silent by the creature which was bound it heavy chains. Mance told them with grim certainty.

"A White Walker, and I lost a hundred men just capturing it."

"The White walkers are just a myth!" Ser Wendel Manderly said quickly but his face showed his uncertainty now that he was confronted with proof to the contrary. Ned himself was shocked and more than a little fearful of the creature that he had only heard of legends. Of terrible creatures that came surrounded by freezing snow that were the enemy of all life. That could animate the dead as the soldiers and had frightened the North men so much that they had constructed the Wall to keep them out. Up to this moment he had always considered them like most people to be just fairy stories used to frighten children but here in front of him was the unfortunate proof that the legends could well be horrifically true.

"And yet here I stand." The Walker said with a loud growl. The fact the creature spoke just worried the Northerners all the more but they had a chance to respond the creature suddenly jerked against its chains which shattered like broken glass shocking everyone around them. However the White Walker did not waste time as it moved with a speed that was inhuman grabbing one of the Wildlings and tore his throat out before his partner a woman with a spear cried out in rage and stabbed forward with her spear which shattered on contact with the creature. The woman had only a second to stared shocked at her broken weapon before the White Walker took the sword of the first man he had killed and plunged it into her stomach. She could only gasp before falling to the ground as the Walker pulled the sword out and it became frozen over with clear ice, glowing a faint blue inside and with it he cut down the other wildlings that had been holding him with blinding speed before advanced towards the rest of the party when suddenly snow began to fall as if the creature was willing it.

The shock over what was happening that had initially held the Northerners and Wildlings stunned quickly passed and they drew their weapons although having seen what just happened to the dead woman's spear they did not know how effective they would be and they edged back as the Walker came closer. Ned with his great sword Ice in his hand stopped trying to move away and held his ground. His heart was beating wildly in his chest as he faced the strange frightening creature coming towards him, his fear intensified as the cold around him increased to levels where even his heavy furs could not protect him. The cries of the people behind him even those of his own son and his brother faded into muffled noise, his resolve to stay strong wavered slightly but regardless Ned held his ground as the creature advanced towards him.

The Walker sneered as it came closer, not at all scared of Ned or the large sword in his hands. It swung its ice covered sword towards Ned who raised his great sword to block it. But then the most unexpected thing happened…the ice covered sword shattered into a million small icy pieces on contact with Lord Stark's exceptionally large blade. Everyone was shocked at what had just happened and no more that than the Walker itself but it had no time to react to the destruction of its borrowed blade before Ned in a state of instinctive reaction swung his large sword into the creature which shattered into pieces immediately just like the sword had done moments ago.

The area was silent for a moment as everyone absorbed what had just happened and the sudden snow storm died down. Ned looked at the blade in his hand as his blood thundered through his ears and the ripples in the steel which had never comforted him before now seemed oddly reassuring.

The Northerners and the Wildling apparent leaders all retired to the main tent where they all took a steadying flagon of ale to calm their nerves after their earlier brush with the supernatural. Mance decided to break the oppressive silence that held strong in the room with some information he felt important.

"The Wall has magic layered into its very foundations, which is one of the reasons it has stayed up so long. But in recent years that magic seems to be failing in places…opening holes in the barrier that keeps the White Walkers back. That is how we got that one through, in time however it will likely come down completely. Then the Walkers will come in force." Mance said.

"And the Wildlings? Where do they stand in this?" Jeor Mormont asked them with suspicion, after all they had brought that thing through the Wall and were coming here in force themselves.

"We are not going to allow those creatures to slaughter us so they can animate our corpses as their own slave soldiers. And don't call us Wildlings…we are Free Folk." The young woman, Ygritte said fiercely with a look of disgust. Tormund nodded quickly and said.

"Those that would fight are here with us, but the others have fallen to the promises of the Walkers to spare them if they destroy the Night's Watch and sow chaos in the North and the rest of the south. We came to this castle to defend ourselves from them, taking that Walker to prove their existence to the North and the Watch." Tormund explained but Mance broke in before he could continue.

"But clearly they wanted to let us take him so he could get south of the Wall and begin weakening the kingdom in preparation for their invasion. It is good Lord Stark that they had not counted on your sword, Valyrian steel one of only two things that can harm the walkers, the only other being dragonglass."

"That is all well and good." Roose Bolton said suddenly from the other side of the tent taking a rather big gulp of ale before speaking again. "But there is still thousands of your fellow wildlings coming here and they are intent on carving us all up like a stag at a feast. What are we going to do about that?"

"Fight." The GreatJon said suddenly standing to his full size with fierce resolve in his eyes. "If these things are coming for us then we need to stop them here before they breach the Wall. Running away like you seem to want to do is the mark of a craven and would at best only buy us time." The insult hung in the air for a moment and Roose looked ready to kill the Umber lord for such a comment when Ned stepped in.

"Lord Umber is right, we have to fight." The others in the tent turned to him all hanging on his every word as a sense of frustrated resignation came over him. "These creatures are coming for us wherever we go…they have no mercy and will kill us while they blanket the world in never ending winter. We all have a choice; surrender and they will kill us before animating our corpses to fight against the living. Or we can fight and yes we could die but it gives us a chance to live." He put down his flagon of ale and walked over to Mance who held his ground until the two men were face to face and asked him a question based on their more immediate concern.

"Will the Free Folk fight against the Wildlings? Fight with us?" He asked him causing more than a few raised eyebrows at just the idea of the working with the 'Free Folk'. Most of the Northern lords had been suffering from raids from them and their kind for generations, even the GreatJon was weary over working with wildlings and it looked like Ygritte and Tormund were not particularly happy at the thought of working with the Night's Watch who had been killing their people for centuries either. The atmosphere in the tent became quickly charged with tension

Mance was silent as he thought about the offer from Lord Stark. He had hoped to unite all the peoples north of the Wall into a strong enough group that they might succeed in breaching the Wall and head south, but the Walkers had poisoned their minds with false promises of mercy so they do their work for them. Those he had convinced of the truth and of them who had been brave enough to stand against the White Walkers rather than go along with the other Wildlings out of fear were all here with him. He knew that even those five thousand he had under his command would not be enough to survive the coming night. Knowing that this might be his only chance to survive he extended his hand to Lord Stark and when the grim northern lord shook it, there was no cheer from anyone as the real struggle was yet to come.

"They are coming at all the castles in the east with focus on those which are occupied along the Wall, including the one my people are holding right now. The magic in the Wall is partly tied to the Watch itself, get rid of them and the Wall becomes far weaker. So they are coming to Castle Black, Eastwatch-By-The-Sea, to kill me and my people at Woodswatch-By-The-Pool and the remaining Watch brothers at the Shadow Tower. They are also sending a force to Queensgate as well." Mance told them with what information he had on the Wildlings' plan. "The magic that holds the Wall up will fall anyway but if the crows are killed then they can use the fools to sow chaos further south to prepare the way for their invasion once it goes."

"Then we will split our forces between the castles and hold them to the last man. If your people will fight with us then perhaps you should find some way for us to tell them from the enemy. Perhaps black armbands?" Lord Stark suggested grimly as he looked at his son and wondered if he was going to have any chance to have a full and rich life; marry, have children and even take over his seat as ruler of the North. Would he even survive this coming battle? The thought of losing his son when he was barely even a man frightened Ned more than he was able to admit. With more questions, hoping to get information that would be useful to avoiding the worst outcome Ned asked Mance.

"How did you learn all of this?" Mance gave a slight smile before telling him calmly.

"I have a few informants in the enemy camp and the rest came from a certain raven that contacted me." He told them cryptically annoying many of the Northerners including his own people in the process.

As Mance returned to his people he was silent, at his side however Ygritte and Tormund were not inclined to be.

"Allying with crows and kneelers will piss off everyone you know that" Ygritte reminded him fiercely hating the thought of siding with the bastards at the Wall and below it. Tormund was of a similar mind.

"They will gut us the moment we turn our backs and then mount our heads on pikes just for fun."

"It is our only chance to survive." Mance said firmly feeling a strong ache in his bones and a weariness in his mind. "The fools that have fallen for the lies of the Walkers will slaughter us and everyone in the world. We could run to the very bottom of the world and they would follow us just for the sake of us being alive. There is no other option." He said furious at having to ally himself with his former brothers who would sooner take his head the moment this was over no doubt…if they managed to survive. The two Free Folk at his side looked like they wanted to argue further but accepted his wisdom and stayed silent as they went to break the news to their people while the Northern lords decided who would stand at the different castles.

"This is a mistake Ned." The GreatJon said gravely. His face no longer lit up with his usual hearty grin and instead carried a hard stare that was unnerving, he had much reason to distrust the Wildlings as they had been plaguing his lands for centuries. The other lords around him looked similarly unsettled at having to work with Wildlings, the same people that had terrorised their lands for countless generations. It was a hard thing to swallow even with the threat of the White Walkers and their Wildling puppets hanging over them.

"They are bloody savages. We cannot trust them. Who is to say they will go back where they came from when the battle is over? What if they want to stay in our lands?" Lord Karstark said gruffly and the Mormonts in the tent looked ready to say their piece before Ned told them.

"We have no choice! That army coming down from the Far North is too big for us to take on alone and with the war in the south there is no time to get more reinforcements. There are so few of us against so many. What else would you have me do?" He asked them with anger, their prejudices where endangering them all. None of them were able to argue against the facts logically but they still clung firmly to their distrust. Grudgingly however they swallowed their pride and followed his lead. Ned turned back to the map of the Wall and started planning where they should concentrate their efforts.

"Queensgate is abandoned but not in too bad a condition it would be un-defendable as are several other castles." Jeor Mormont said as he indicated the castle in question and others which they would need to have manned. He had his own reservations about working with Wildlings despite the tentative alliance he had arranged with Craster but he trusted his former comrade in arms and liege lord Eddard Stark more than he distrusted Mance Rayder and his Free Folk.

Ned nodded and then made up his mind on who would defend what castles.

"The Glovers, Forresters and Whitehills will garrison Queensgate, meanwhile the Karstarks and the Boltons will reinforce the Night's Watch at the Shadow Tower. Here at the Woodswatch castle House Flint and House Manderly will fight with the Free Folk against the Wildlings." He said careful to distinguish the difference between their enemy and their new allies, but also choosing two houses that had not had to deal with Wildling raids as prominently as some of the other houses hoping to avoid more conflict. His choice was justified as while the houses who had been chosen to hold the same castle as the Free Folk looked disgruntled but not too angered. With that decided he then said. "The Umbers and the Mormonts will join my forces at Castle Black to reinforce the Night's Watch, while other houses will guard the abandoned castles along the Wall so they cannot try and flank us. I suggest we get ready now. This is likely going to be the biggest battle that any of us have ever fought." He said grimly, living up to his name as the Quiet Wolf by falling into contemplative silence as he studied the situation he was presented with. He had never had to face a force as large as this before, even during the rebellion alongside Robert he had never faced such odds.

At Winterfell Bran sat in the Godswood of Winterfell with his hand touching its roots, his eyes blank as his mind was somewhere else entirely. Summer, his direwolf stood guard over his master, alert to any possible threat. Bran however shifted slightly at what he experienced distressed him slightly, for his mind was witnessing an event which would unleash the greatest darkness this world had ever known.

In his mind's eye, Bran could see the green grove around a large Weirwood tree where creatures that were like humans only with nut-brown skin and larger than normal ears had huddled into a tight group. Their eyes were like a cat's in shades of gold or green and their hands hand only three fingers and a thumb on each hand with sharp looking claws instead of fingernails. Their movements were slight but quick and graceful like dancers as they came closer to the truck of the tree where a man was tied and gagged. At his side the Three Eyed Raven told him.

"The Children of the Forest found themselves desperate as the First Men came upon them and threatened their very existence. So they decided to create a warrior to stop them, only for them to realise too late that what they had created was more of a danger to life than the First Men could ever be." The Three Eyed Raven said sadly as they watched that would bring untold misery to many thousands of years ago and would soon bring untold misery to many yet again.

As he and the boy that was his student stood nearby one of the Children approached the bound man who struggled frantically hard against his bindings but to no avail, he began to yell muffled screams in panic as the approaching member of the Children held a dragonglass dagger in hand and without any pity whatsoever plunged it into the man's chest. Bran was wide eyed with shock at what was happening but what happened next, instead of blood pouring out of the wound as the dagger disappeared inside the man's chest it sealed itself and the man stopped screaming but he was not dead. As Bran looked upon the man's face he saw his eyes begin to change. They started to go from a light grey to an eerie blue but instead of staying around the pupil the blue expanded out seeming to consume the whole of the man's eyes, but that was not the only change that was happening as the man's skin turned from a normal healthy shade of pink to a deathly white.

"They were at war." The Three Eyed Raven said sadly as he saw the Children of the Forest make their biggest mistake. Bran still in shock asked his mentor as he processed the fact that he had just witnessed the birth of the White Walkers.

"With who?"

"The First Men…Humans." The Three Eyed Raven said sadly as he turned to face his student. "They were cutting down their trees…slaughtering them. Man does little better than he does at killing." He said before continuing. "However it would take both the First Men and the Children of the Forest to stop the White Walkers when they rose, breaking the Long Night. They even constructed the Wall to keep them out and to this day that Wall keeps the rest of the world safe from the Walkers but now they are stirring again." He said worried that this time they might not be strong enough to stop them. Bran was alarmed at the idea of the Walkers returning and the Raven told him solemnly.

"Even at the Wall now...the Walkers work to bring it down, using the Wildlings to break those that stand against them. The battle's outcome remains unclear even to me but I do know that a Stark will die." He said regretfully, the presence of the Walkers clouded his ability to see the future.

"Who?" Bran pressed feeling anxious about his father, brother and uncle who were all at the Wall right now.

"Only time will tell young lord." The Raven said sadly.

The different houses are split up and headed to the castles that they would be defending. As the Starks, Umbers and Mormonts arrived at Castle Black, even Ned was astonished at how much it had deteriorated since he had last seen it. The castle had always been Spartan but the grimness of the rotting wood that made up the fortress, the biting cold and the rough and too few faces of the Night's Watch brought it home to Ned just how much the Watch had suffered in the last few years. Hardly anyone joined the Watch willingly these days, the hard lifestyle being too much for many men. The criminals consigned to the Wall all hated the place it could be seen as clear as day but given the choice between death and the Wall it had probably seemed like the best choice at the time.

A rough looking knight came out to meet them as the Northerners accompanied by Jeor Mormont and Benjen Stark. The knight was familiar to Ned sadly, the master-at-arms of Castle Black Ser Alliser Thorne. The man had been a Targaryen loyalist captured at the end of the rebellion and had refused to bend the knee to Robert. Given a choice between death and the Wall he had angrily chosen the latter and was said to take it out on the new recruits that he trained. His appearance had certainly not improved any more than his mood had Ned thought to himself when he saw the mean glint in his eyes and the open expression of disgust aimed at him and the other Northern lords present, even at Jeor Mormont, his own lord commander. Ned truly pitied any one that had to be trained by such a man.

"Ser Allister." Jeor Mormont said riding forward to address his master-at-arms. "Prepare the men." He ordered firmly sliding off his horse before continuing. "Have the men take up arms and ready the catapults and heat the lead. Battle is upon us."

"But what of the Wildlings at Woodswatch?" Ser Allister asked angrily, he hated Wildlings with a vengeance. His hatred would often blind his common sense and he was impulsive enough to not consider his actions. Jeor's response was curt and blunt.

"Never mind them! We have an army of real Wildlings numbering in the tens of thousands heading here. We need to prepare for them, go to your duties! Now!" He said sternly when he saw Ser Allister was about to argue but the hard look in Jeor's eyes made him stop and muttering under his breath Ser Allister went to start getting the men as ready as he could for coming battle.

Ned watched him go before he turned to Jeor and said.

"I need to speak to my son and brother in private lord commander. Can I use the King's Tower to gain some privacy?" Robb and Benjen looked surprised and so did Jeor but he nodded and went off to prepare his men. Ned meanwhile turned to Ser Roderick Cassel and told him "Get the men ready for battle, I will not be long." And then went over to the tower that was reserved for any royal visits but had not seen any visitors in hundreds of years. So hopefully Ned would be able to have a quiet word with his son and his brother without being disturbed. They were going into a battle that he might well not survive and he needed to make sure that Robb was finally made aware of the truth about his 'bastard brother' Jon and by that same standard he wanted to make sure that Benjen knew in the event that neither Robb nor he managed to survive the battle. The thought brought a painful pang to his heart and he wished he could send him back to Winterfell but now he had brought him to the battle he could not or Robb would be labelled the 'Cowardly Wolf' and his reign as Lord of Winterfell would be over before it had even begun. Cursing his lack of foresight as they climbed the stairs of the tower they soon arrived at a bedroom which was covered in dust but would suit their purposes.

They all entered the room and Ned shut the door, bolting the stiff lock behind once they were in. Both Robb and Benjen looked mystified at why Ned would drag them in here when a battle was mere hours away. Ned looked grim as he turned to face them before he summoned up the courage to tell them the truth that he had done his best to suppress for nearly eighteen years. Drawing on whatever courage he could he told them.

"What I am about to tell you must only be told to our closest allies and members of our family, people we can trust absolutely. It starts with the fight at the Tower of Joy when I rode there to rescue Lyanna." He said and now saw Robb and Benjen were intrigued given that Ned never spoke of those events unless he had no other option. "When I arrived with my men, we fought the Kingsguard including Ser Arthur Dayne that much you know…but after the battle I raced up Tower and found Lyanna sick with fever…and with child." He said hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible. The eyes of Robb and Benjen widened at what he was saying but he did not hesitate before continuing. "I sent for a maester but there was none to be found close enough to help her that we could trust, so I stayed with her and comforted her as best I could. In the hours that we spent waiting for the birth that would surely kill her…she managed to tell me everything. She was never kidnapped by Rhaegar Targaryen…she left with him willingly." Both Benjen and Robb looked started enough that Lyanna had been pregnant more so now that they knew the entire reason for the Rebellion which brought down the Targaryen dynasty being a complete farce. Ned continued speaking although his anxiety was now really starting to rise. "Rhaegar's wife Elia Martell could not bear any more children, so they faked the pregnancy to protect her from the Mad King's rage until Rhaegar could take a second wife and produce a male heir. So he married Lyanna under the Old Gods in secret until he could dispose of his father and announce it publically." Ned said but then Robb broke in.

"But Lyanna was betrothed to Robert Baratheon at that time." Benjen however remembered his sister all too well and could answer that statement without needing Ned to fill in the blanks.

"She hated him." Benjen said sadly as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place much to his frustration that Ned had not told him the truth about his sister and her fate before. She had been his sister too and Ned should never have kept him in the dark about this. The furious look on his face made Ned's face fall slightly and the edge of anger in Benjen's voice made it worse. "Lyanna thought Robert was a whoring, drunk waster. She complained to father many times…if the crown prince came to her with a better offer she would have jumped at it to get away from Robert."

Ned nodded sadly trying not to let himself show shame at the accusing look being directed at him by Benjen while Robb just looked continually surprised.

"Someone then told our brother Brandon that Rhaegar had kidnapped her and in a badly thought out wolf blood fuelled decision rushed to Kings Landing to demand her return and you know what that led too." Ned said gravely as the visions of what had happened to his brother and father at the hand of the Mad King flashed through his mind along with all the madness that followed that dreadful day. "While I sat with her she told me the whole story until she gave birth…to a son although she barely lived long enough to see him and made me swear to protect him…from the Lannisters and especially from Robert after what happened to Rhaegar's other child at Kings Landing." Ned decided not to admit the truth about the other Targaryens just yet as it could potentially undermine Hadrian Lannister and Jon's other supporters in Westeros.

Robb and Benjen suddenly saw where this was heading with that last comment and their jaws nearly dropped in shock as the truth hit them. Robb was astonished at the scale of what his father was admitting too and what it could mean for this country.

"Jon…it is Jon isn't? The true heir to the Iron Throne…raised as your bastard son and my brother?" Robb managed to ask his father feeling not only confused at the revelation that the boy he had grown up loving as a brother was in fact his cousin and in fact the rightful king. He suddenly felt not only angry at his father for playing out this charade for not only his entire life, but Jon's, Sansa's Arya's, Bran's and Rickon's. They all loved Jon and thought of him as a sibling regardless of whatever their mother had thought although with Sansa following their mother's lead in thinking of Jon so poorly given he was a bastard and apparently 'evidence' of their father's infidelity and should therefore be shunned. He was angry not only for his father lying to them all but on Jon's behalf even more, all the nasty comments and coldness sent his way by Robb's own mother…all because of a lie that his own father had told them.

All that fighting in the south while the true heir was in Essos fighting to free slaves. It was laughable when you thought about it although Robb managed to restrain himself. Now he could see why his father had been keen to keep the North out of the war, after all why fight for a false king when you knew a better candidate was across the Narrow Sea.

He was about to start shouting at his father as his rage began to build when he was stopped by a knocking at the door which immediately put all three of the Starks on edge. The voice on the other side sounded old and tired but full of wisdom as it spoke.

"My lords, your soldiers are asking for instructions of setting up for the battle to come. I hope you do not intend on staying in this tower all of the day."

Ned went over to the door and opened it revealing the gaunt and lined face of Castle Black's maester Aemon Targaryen. Not many knew the man was of royal blood and the man himself had long served here asking for no special treatment, serving longer at the Wall than any current member of the Order. He was admired for his wisdom and skill and even more amazingly despite being blind he could still find his way around Castle Black better than some of the sighted men. Ned turned and told the two other men in the room.

"We will talk more about this later, for now let us get ready for the coming battle. Thank you for reminding us Maester." Ned added turning to face the old man of learning who ignored the statement and after both Robb and Benjen had walked past angrily Aemon grasped Ned's arm tightly to stop him walking away. Ned turned looking shocked at the old man and was about to demand an explanation when the old maester began to talk.

"I wonder if the boy what kind of king your nephew will be?" He said softly despite his grasp on Ned's arm being as strong as a vice. Ned himself was alarmed that the old maester had overheard them but the maester then said with absolute certainty. "A great one I am sure. My eyes may have failed me but there are other ways to see my lord." He said calmly, scaring Ned slightly. "And I can tell you that the lost dragon is indeed alive and safe from those that took her. After the battle we will talk of where she can be found."

With that shock delivered Aemon let go of Ned's arm and walked off down the stairs leaving a very surprised Ned behind. The lord of the North was struggling to understand what the old maester had meant by there being more ways than using your eyes to see but he could not waste time on that and decided to interrogate the maester later…for now they must get ready to meet the Wildlings in battle.

Robb stormed out of the tower to re-join their army as they set up at Castle Black, his mind was hot with anger at the shock his father had dumped on him on the eve of what could be the hardest battle of his life. Jon had always been a brother to him, regardless of whether or not they had the same mother or not he had always thought of Jon as his brother and closest friend. When Theon Greyjoy had come to Winterfell, Robb realised sadly that he had started to neglect his relationship with Jon in favour of the older Greyjoy. It had not been done intentionally but Robb still felt a stab of guilt at doing it. He had seen the put downs that Theon had sent at Jon when he had first arrived, comments and snide jokes about his status as a bastard although at the time Robb had not realised that. It made Robb feel worse as he saw Theon mistreat Jon and had done nothing. As the years had gone on Theon had lost interest and turned his attentions more towards the local whores but it had left a rift in his relationship with Jon, although they still cared for each other it had become far more formal, lacking the easy humour they had once shared. Robb could only hope when Jon eventually returned to Westeros that there would be a chance to repair their bond…whether he was his brother or his cousin Jon was family and now Robb was starting to realise what that truly meant.

As his thoughts turned darker with anger directed largely towards himself he arrived outside where he saw the new blacksmith that his father had sent from Kings Landing, Gendry Waters. He did not know why his father had brought the young man to Winterfell or the young woman with a baby that was now the personal maid of Jeyne Poole but he felt his features tense as he saw Theon smirking and from the look of it taunting the younger man with his status as a bastard. Thinking back on his earlier realisation that Theon had done this to Jon as well made Robb angry enough to walk over and tell Theon sternly.

"Perhaps you should be getting your armour ready? After all we are soon going into battle and it would be most embarrassing for the last surviving son of Balon Greyjoy to die so foolishly where a simple blacksmith comes this battle." He said causing Theon too look at him surprised and more than a little insulted but the sharp glint in Robb's eye must have clued Theon in that it was not the time to argue and grumbling all the way went to get his armour in preparation for the coming battle.

Gendry looked over to Robb and averted his eyes in anxiety but did say quietly.

"Thank you my lord." Robb feeling slightly better said kindly to the young blacksmith's apprentice.

"Every man has his own value, never let anyone tell you different." Robb said remembering something his father had told him. "You might have been born out of wedlock but you are your own man and will make your own way in this world. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." He clasped Gendry's shoulder briefly before going off to speak with Ser Roderick about the disposition of their forces, leaving a confused and thoughtful Gendry behind.